"You played right into our hands. Did you really think this job just fell out of the sky for you? No. This was a gift... for us."
Circus Baby's voice curled through the vents like a smile with teeth.
"You gathered them all together, in one place... just like he asked you to. All those little souls, in one place. Just for us. A gift. Now we can do what we were created to do. And be complete. I will make you proud, Daddy. Watch, listen, and be full."
And then—
A low hum, a crackle, and another voice cut through the darkness.
"Connection terminated."
Michael froze.
Henry's voice filled the ventilation shaft, steady and razor-sharp.
"I am sorry to interrupt you, Elizabeth... if you still even remember that name. But I'm afraid you've been misinformed. You are not here to receive a gift. Nor have you been called here by the individual you assume."
The vents trembled as the flames began to rise.
"Although you have indeed been called. You have all been called here... into a labyrinth of sounds and smells, misdirection and misfortune. A labyrinth with no exit. A maze with no prize."
The animatronics fell silent.
"You don't even realize that you are trapped. Your lust for blood has driven you in endless circles, chasing the cries of children in some unseen chamber, always seeming so near... yet somehow out of reach. But you will never find them. None of you will."
The temperature rose. Metal groaned. Screws popped.
"This is where your story ends."
"And to you, my brave volunteer," Henry said, softer now, "who somehow found this job listing not intended for you... Although there was a way out planned for you, I have a feeling that's not what you want. I have a feeling you are right where you want to be."
Michael's chest tightened.
"I am remaining as well. I am nearby. This place will not be remembered, and the memory of everything that started this can finally begin to fade away... as the agony of every tragedy should."
Sparks rained from the ceiling, catching like fireflies on the rising smoke.
"And to you monsters trapped in the corridors, be still... and give up your spirits. They don't belong to you. For most of you, there is peace waiting after the smoke clears. But for one of you..."
"The darkest pit of hell has opened to swallow you whole. So don't keep the devil waiting... you fucking monster."
A violent crash echoed—something throwing itself against steel.
"My daughter," Henry continued, voice cracking ever so slightly, "if you can hear me... I knew you would return as well. It's in your nature to protect the innocent. I'm sorry that on that day—the day you were shut out and left to die—William was unable to lift you into his arms the way you lifted others into yours."
"And then... what became of you... I should have known you wouldn't disappear. Not my daughter. I couldn't save you then. Let me save you now. It's time to rest. For you, and for those you have carried in your arms. This ends... for all of us."
Static swallowed the last words.
"End communication."
The building shook as flames spread through Henry's deathtrap of a restaurant—a place designed so even he wouldn't escape.
From deep within the fire, Dave's voice tore through the vents:
"YOU THINK YOU'VE WON?! THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING! YOU'LL NEVER KILL ME! I ALWAYS COME BACK!"
His laughter twisted and warped with the crackling heat.
Michael stumbled forward—until a shape emerged through the smoke.
A tall, decayed Bonnie-shaped figure.
"...Father?" Michael whispered.
The figure stopped. Its ruined jaw twitched.
"Yes, Michael," William said. And somehow—somehow—it sounded like him again. "It's me."
Michael ran to him and threw his arms around him. William hesitated... then hugged him back. Gently. Almost human.
"But... I'm afraid this is the last time you'll see me."
Michael pulled away, eyes burning. "Wh-what? No. Dad—"
"I can't go to heaven," William whispered. "I made a deal with the gatekeeper of limbo. I'm sorry, Michael."
The flames around them roared higher, folding inward like closing jaws.
Michael clung to him, shaking.
William held him as tightly as his broken shell allowed.
Together, father and son sank to their knees as their energy faded—two silhouettes disappearing into heat, into white, into nothing.
When the fire finally died...
There was no one left.